Olympics in Chinese 奥运会
Àoyùnhuì
Olympic Games in Chinese is 奥运会 (ào yùn huì).
Also searched for as: olympic games, gold medal, olympics.
The world's biggest sporting event. 15 words and phrases for The Olympics in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The Olympic Games are 奥运会 (Ào yùn huì), short for 奥林匹克运动会 (Ào lín pǐ kè yùn dòng huì). Whether you're watching in a pub or chatting with Chinese friends about the 奖牌榜 (jiǎng pái bǎng), medal table, these words cover the ceremonies, the medals from 金牌 (jīn pái), gold, down to 铜牌 (tóng pái), bronze, and the big moments, such as breaking a 世界纪录 (shì jiè jì lù), world record. Beijing has hosted both the Summer and Winter Games.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 奥运会 | Ào yùn huì | the Olympic Games |
| 金牌 | jīn pái | gold medal |
| 银牌 | yín pái | silver medal |
| 铜牌 | tóng pái | bronze medal |
| 奖牌榜 | jiǎng pái bǎng | medal table |
| 开幕式 | kāi mù shì | opening ceremony |
| 闭幕式 | bì mù shì | closing ceremony |
| 圣火 | shèng huǒ | Olympic flame |
| 五环 | wǔ huán | the Olympic rings |
| 领奖台 | lǐng jiǎng tái | podium |
| 国歌 | guó gē | national anthem |
| 世界纪录 | shì jiè jì lù | world record |
| 代表团 | dài biǎo tuán | delegation; team |
| 主办 | zhǔ bàn | to host |
| 预赛 | yù sài | heats; qualifying round |
Usage tips
- 奥运会 on its own normally means the Summer Games; the Winter Olympics are 冬奥会 (Dōng ào huì) and the Paralympics are 残奥会 (Cán ào huì).
- 'Win a medal' is 拿 (ná) or 获得 (huò dé) plus the medal: 拿金牌 (ná jīn pái) is casual, 获得金牌 (huò dé jīn pái) is what you hear on the news, and a gold medallist is a 金牌得主 (jīn pái dé zhǔ).
- Medals take the measure word 枚 (méi), as in 一枚金牌 (yī méi jīn pái), and each edition of the Games is counted with 届 (jiè), as in 下一届奥运会 (xià yī jiè Ào yùn huì), the next Olympics.
Common mistakes
- Using 奥林匹克 (Ào lín pǐ kè) on its own to mean the Games; it means 'Olympic' or 'Olympia', so for the event say 奥运会 or the full 奥林匹克运动会.
- Writing 世界记录 with 记 instead of 世界纪录 (shì jiè jì lù) with 纪; 记录 means to record or a written record, while a sporting record uses 纪.
Mini dialogue
- A昨晚的开幕式你看了吗？Zuó wǎn de kāi mù shì nǐ kàn le ma?Did you watch the opening ceremony last night?
- B看了，太精彩了！圣火点燃的时候我都哭了。Kàn le, tài jīng cǎi le! Shèng huǒ diǎn rán de shí hou wǒ dōu kū le.I did, it was amazing! I actually cried when they lit the flame.
- A今天游泳比赛有人拿金牌吗？Jīn tiān yóu yǒng bǐ sài yǒu rén ná jīn pái ma?Did anyone win gold in the swimming today?
- B有，还打破了世界纪录呢。Yǒu, hái dǎ pò le shì jiè jì lù ne.Yes, and they broke the world record too.
- A太厉害了！我们在奖牌榜上排第几？Tài lì hai le! Wǒ men zài jiǎng pái bǎng shàng pái dì jǐ?Brilliant! Where are we on the medal table?
- B现在排第五，不过还有很多比赛呢。Xiàn zài pái dì wǔ, bù guò hái yǒu hěn duō bǐ sài ne.Fifth at the moment, but there are still lots of events to go.
Example sentences
- 下一届奥运会在哪儿举办？Where are the next Olympics being held?
- 中国队又拿了一枚金牌！China won another gold medal!
- 她获得了银牌。She won silver.
- 他差一点儿就拿到铜牌了。He very nearly got bronze.
- 美国在奖牌榜上排第一。The US is top of the medal table.
- 开幕式太精彩了！The opening ceremony was amazing!
- 闭幕式上有很多烟花。There were lots of fireworks at the closing ceremony.
- 圣火已经点燃了。The Olympic flame has been lit.
- 五环代表五大洲。The five rings represent five continents.
- 她站上了领奖台。She stood on the podium.
- 领奖的时候奏国歌。The national anthem plays at the medal ceremony.
- 他打破了世界纪录！He broke the world record!
- 中国代表团有四百多名运动员。The Chinese team has over 400 athletes.
- 北京主办过两次奥运会。Beijing has hosted the Olympics twice.
- 她在预赛里跑得很快。She ran very fast in the heats.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The The Olympics speaking island has 8 everyday questions about The Olympics to prepare your own answers to.